How to Protect Your eCommerce Business with SSL

The eCommerce world is booming with over $1 trillion being now being transacted in a year. This has been sparked by the growth of the Internet that has seen many consumers shift from the traditional way of shopping to online shopping. Let’s face it, online shopping is cheaper and convenient way than traditional shopping ecosystems. The downside though is that the number of transactions being done in the online space has subsequently led to security threats in the form of phishing attacks and malware affecting or stealing the sensitive customers’ data. Such risks have pegged back the growth of many eCommerce businesses as customers shy away from transacting online with fear that their sensitive data may be compromised. Now, as a business owner how do you ensure your eCommerce business is secure? Well, this article tells you everything you need to know about SSL and how you can use SSL certificates to protect your eCommerce business.

How to Protect Your eCommerce Business with SSL

How to Protect Your eCommerce Business with SSL

What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and it is a protocol formed by Netscape to protect communication between a client and a web server. In essence, it is important to keep two things in mind: that your eCommerce user is always communicating with right target and that the communication is secure. To understand how SSL does this, let’s introduce a new term known as Public Key Cryptography. For starters, cryptography is the technique of storing and transmitting information and data in ways where they can only be availed to whom they are intended.

Public Key Cryptography, on the other hand, is a cryptographic system that uses two keys to achieve this-one known as the public key and the other known as a private key. The public keys can be transmitted online but the private key is held in secret. The public key is used to encrypt content that can only be deciphered using the private key. Moreover, the private key can be leveraged in signing the data disseminated via the web to verify the identity of the sender.

This form of cryptography achieves both authentication and encryption that are key in modern day security around network engineering. Back to SSL now and the protocol uses a third party known as the Central Authority (CA) to establish one or both ends of the communication between an eCommerce user and the server. Enough of the technical stuff, let’s now look into how SSL will protect your users.

SSL Guarantees That Users Are Communication with eCommerce Servers

Again, there is a very high chance that hackers can masquerade as you and trick your consumers into sending sensitive information to the wrong place. For instance, a smart hacker may create a User Interface that looks exactly like your bank’s website or one that looks exactly like your website and routes your users to other landing pages. You users may not have the capacity to distinguish between the attacker’s site and your hence falling prey of such hackers. This is why there is a need for users to know that they are communicating with the right server and this is where SSL comes in.

In other words, once an SSL connection has been made between the server and the user then the server will respond with a digital certificate. This certificate is signed by the private key of a CA. A CA is necessary given the fact that it is not possible for the browser to keep tabs or rather, store all the public keys of the sites that are trusted.

A good example of such a scenario is Amazon that has had its certificate signed by a CA, in this case, Symantec. So, the browser uses the public keys of the CAs and implicitly trusts all the sites that have been signed by them.

SSL Ensures That Information Is Encrypted As It Is Sent Online

The eCommerce user’s browser has established that it is communicating with the right server, the next key facet is to ensure that the information sent between them is encrypted. In the SSL architecture, the browser generates a key known as pre-master key then it encrypts it with the server’s public key which will be sent to the target server. On the server-side, the pre-master key is decrypted before both the server and the browser can generate a related master key. The master keys will then be algorithmically be used to generate the session keys which will form the basis of communication between the two end points.

SSL Enhance Trust

Apart from the technical aspects of security, SSL can also enhance the trust of your website among consumers. Think of it this way, when your website is protected via SSL then your users will get the assurance that they are sharing their sensitive data in a website they can trust. This is owing to the fact that once a site is protected via SSL then the site will have a padlock coupled with a trust seal that acts as visual cues of trust.

Buying SSL Certificates for eCommerce Business?

So, where can you buy an SSL certificate for your eCommerce business? Well, there are lots of CAs to buy from depending on your preference. One such CA is Comodo known for Comodo SSL Certificates. The beauty is that if you are eCommerce business looking to adopt SSL certificates for the first time then Comodo offers a free trial certificate for up to 90 days. You can choose to go for a standard SSL or a Cheap Comodo EV SSL certificate. The latter offers advanced security features to eCommerce business compared to the standard SSL. You can just take your pick depending on the level of security you need for your website but the Comodo EV SSL is the one that is recommended for any website handling sensitive data.

Conclusion

You need to beef up security if you are to run a successful eCommerce website and SSL is one key way to do so. As a matter of fact, SSL certificates are now becoming more of a necessity than a choice in many websites so why not jump on the wagon sooner leave room for attackers to infiltrate your business.